The Tale of an Orphan
by SweetPeaseblossom
Summary: When orphaned Aredhel gets a chance to leave the dreary orphanage for Edoras as a servant to king Theoden and possibly be a shieldmaiden when she's older, she jumps at the opportunity. However, mysteries surround her. As she delves into the forgotten legacy of her past, old secrets come to light. What will happen when they're revealed?
1. Aredhel's Earliest Path

**Hi! This is my first fanfiction for this site and I hope you enjoy it. Of course, I DON'T own any of the characters, but anything original is mine.**

Aredhel's name meant "Noble Elf". She always wondered if she was one. Well, maybe not noble. Just an elf. For whatever she was, Aredhel was not noble. She was just an eleven year old orphan. She had spent her entire life in an orphanage. Aredhel's parents were, in all probability, dead. The girl had no living relatives. She did not remember her parents, being an infant when they (in all probability, remember) died. Life in orphanages, lived by a person like Aredhel, is unpleasent. Aredhel was brighter than most children, for example. It did nothing to help her popularity. That was why she did not think twice when the opportunity to change orphanages presented itself. It was on a cold, rainy, no good day. Aredhel was in the library, as usual. It was a small room with one still smaller bookshelf containing musty old books. The library was the only place she was safe, the only place were the iliterate mockers never disturbed her. Aredhel was reading an unsurprisingly gory tale about some dwarves and an orc named Azog when Fasthild came in with a boy named Helm. Ah, yes. Those two. They were usually the first ones to make fun of her.

Fasthild had mouse brown hair and mouse brown eyes. Helm was tall and awkward, with freckles, sandy blond hair, and dull gray eyes. Neither of them were particularly good looking.

" Aredhel", said Fasthild, " Goldwine wants to see you." When Goldwine, the orphanage director, wanted to see an orphan, it usually meant that he or she was in trouble. Helm snickered "you must be in _really_ big trouble." Aredhel put down her book and began the journey to Goldwine's study. The hallway between the library and the study had long panels of mirror, so when Aredhel walked down the hall, it looked like five Aredhels were taking the same path. The Aredhels walking down the hallway all had blond hair, not unsusal in Rohan ,(the part of Middle Earth were most of this tale takes place,)substantially clean faces, (not unusual for people who valued cleanness,)substantially dirty shoes, (not unusual for children, especially eleven year olds,) and unsubstantially gray, but substantially green eyes. Finally, Aredhel made it to the study. For now, she was a girl who thought she was in trouble, an impression that would be dispelled then, but would prove true in another time. Aredhel's life until that point was a prelude to misfortunes. Not just misfortune.

Joy and sorrow.

Fascinating discoveries.

Danger.

Friends in unexpected places.


	2. An Enchanting Offer

Aredhel walked through the open door. "Come on in, Amarie," said Goldwine. Goldwine was so old, that it was expected that he would drop dead any day. He was thin, shriveled,wrinkly and ugly. He also insisted on calling Aredhel by the wrong name. Every time Aredhel looked at him, she imagined and half believed that an arm or a leg would fall off. "It's Aredhel." said the girl. Goldwine ignored her. The orphanage director thought Aredhel was too saucy by far.

"It has come to my attention that you don't seem to be fitting in"

 _Well, when DID it, quote unquote come to your attention?_

 _"_ Well, the orphanage is getting quite full."

 _Bema! It's true. I did hear that ANOTHER orphan was transferring here, the third this month, but I thought Josephine was fooling with me._

"The reason we give you orphans all those chores is to prepare you for real life."

"What in the _world_ can _that_ mean?" This Aredhel did say aloud.

"Well," said the senile director, "it means ... well, Arwen you recall that girl, what was her name, and those obnoxious twins..."

"Those kids got sent to Meduseld, as servants, right?" It did not take long for Aredhel to realize what the decrepit and dilapidated director was driving at.

"You mean..."

"It is a possibility."

Aredhel practically danced.


	3. The Walk Down the Hallway

All of the five Aredhels walking down the hall were grinning widely. That is, until she met Fasthild. "So what did you do?" said the girl. "Nothing," said Aredhel. " I might be sent to Meduseld as a servant . Maybe, when I'm older, I might become a shieldmaiden." " _WHAT?"_ said Josephine, aghast. "A _shieldmaiden?!"_ "Well, maybe, maybe not." said Aredhel. "Well," said Josephine, "I've always wanted to know where you got that name. It's a Sindarin name, is it?" "Well where did _you_ get your name?" countered Aredhel, " It does NOT come from any language I know of." Fasthild had no explanation for this. Some things in life would _always_ remain a mystery.

Suddenly, Aredhel realized something. It was another reason nobody liked her. If she was an elf, that explained everything. She had, on several occasions, told the director that her name was Aredhel, not any of the Sindarin names that he called her. At one point, he had said, "It's imprudent to talk too much of your... abnormality."

She walked to the library, which only consisted of a few old, practically unreadable books and an outdated map. Aredhel reached the small window and looked out upon a rainy, dark evening turning rapidly to night.


	4. The First Strange Thing: Or, a Vision

Aredhel continued to think. What if her parents were alive? She was an elf, there was little doubt about _that._ How would she fare at Meduseld, since elves were regarded as witches or freaks? She looked through the window, out to the rainy, deluged landscape that was now completely dark. Aredhel suddenly walked out of the room-with-a-few-books-that-was-supposed-to-be-a-library, down the mirrored hall, down the small flight of steps, and out the side door. (Aredhel had discovered it a few months prior.) It really was raining out there, but Aredhel barely noticed it. She saw instead the few lighted windows of the orphanage.

The first strange thing that happened was something Aredhel saw. Or rather, did not see.

They were like memories, but Aredhel never remembered them. The "memories" had not happened to her.

This is what she saw.

Herself in a cave. The cave was glimmering with all kinds of rare, beautiful jewels. There was a tall elf who, Aredhel noticed with shock, had her blond hair and pointed, ear. Her ears. There was also a short person with red hair and a beard that Aredhel conjectured to be a dwarf. Not only was there an elf, there was a woman who appeared to be human, but not quite. The woman had long, dark hair, and a pale face, but instead of gray eyes, she had the palest green eyes. They were the color of sea glass. They were Aredhel's eyes.

That was the first memory.

The second memory was long before the first.

In it was the elf, and the woman. The woman was holding a baby, who had her pale eyes, and blond, downy hair.

Aredhel realized with a huge shock that the baby was herself, and the elf was her father, and the woman was her mother.

"Dearest, what should we name her?" asked the woman.

"Well, my darling, I believe we should name her Aredhel." said the elf.

"Aredhel was known as the White Lady of the Noldor. She was fearless and beautiful and finally gave her life for her son," continued the elf "besides, her name also means Noble Elf. It would be perfect for our little darling."

"Why, of course, Legolas dearie." said the green eyed woman. "I have a wonderful middle name for her. Celebrian. Silver queen."

Then the scene shifted.

It was hardly as fascinating as the first two.

Aredhel was brushing the hair of a horse, and speaking to a good looking boy with blond hair and piercing gray eyes. But before she could find out what herself and the boy were talking about, they vanished.

A shrill voice suddenly cut through her visions.

"AREDHEL! What are you doing out here, in this rain, at night, by yourself?" The voice belonged to Elfhild, the orphanage's housekeeper who worked there for pennies.

"Nothing," stammered Aredhel. "I was just, um, enjoying the weather." What could she say? Oh hello there, I was just hallucinating about my long lost parents?

"Don't get smart, Aredhel."


	5. Questions

A dripping Aredhel was led in the orphanage by the grouchy housekeeper, who was still in the midst of her tirade.

"Good heavens, child, why on _earth_ were you standing out there like a fool? You could have gotten a cold!"

"I don't know," said Aredhel "I just thought, well, the rain was winding down to a drizzle and it would feel interesting." This was true.

Aredhel would never know what made her sneak out.

"HONESTLY, WHY WERE YOU DOING THAT? CHANGE INTO SOMETHING DRY RIGHT THIS INSTANT. YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN A COLD! AND YOU'RE TRACKING WATER ALL OVER THE FLOOR! I'M GOING TO HAVE TO MOP IT AGAIN!" ranted Elfhild.

Aredhel made the sensible decision of going to the room she shared with a few other other girls, (Thankfully unoccupied at the moment) and changed into dry clothes.

"Elfhild?" she asked as she came out of the room. "Good heavens, child, what is it? Can't you see I'm busy mopping this (she then said something she shouldn't have said under her breath.) floor?" snapped the housekeeper.

"Do you know anything about my parents?"

"Goodness, child, what do you think I am, a dictionary? Still, I can tell you that we found you on the doorstep, in a basket. You were wrapped in a blanket, and it had your name stitched on it, in Rohirric, of all tongues."

"Was there anything else in my basket?" said Aredhel.

"Let me think, child. Well, there was a note, saying you were found in a ruined village that had been attacked by orcs, and that your parents were probably dead or captured, and that whoever found you was sorry but could not care for you." The stern woman's face curiously softened.

"Was the note signed?" inquired Aredhel.

"No, child, but I do remember it was a man's handwriting. And very neat, at that."


	6. Questions and Educations

**Sorry for taking so long. I usually write a lot faster. I've been EXTREMELY busy lately.**

Elfhild concluded with a brusque "Your're just lucky I know how to read." and returned to mopping the floor.

Aredhel's thoughts were spinning. Who did not want the burden of a child, but cared enough to make sure she had a place to stay? Were her parents dead or captured?Why did her mother appear human and magically something else at the same time?

She really was lucky Elfhild knew how to read and chose to impart that knowledge to her.

But where did she, Elfhild, the humble housekeeper who gave all indications of never living in prosperity, learn to read? In Rohan, only the gentry were properly educated, but then only a little. Aredhel remembered when the housekeeper was teaching her how to read. She promised herself that by the time she was as old as Elfhild, she would know twice as much as her educator. Aredhel remembered when Elfhild told her the story of her namesake. The original Aredhel, apparently, was an elf maiden who had the bad luck of getting lost in the woods, then captured by a good-for-nothing who married her and then murdered her, apparently by accident.

"How do you know all this?" our Aredhel remembered asking.

Elfhild said nothing but then went on to recount how Elendil and Gil-Galad were killed and how Sauron lost a finger in the process.

Aredhel also remembered asking were the books contained on the minuscule shelf were from. Elfhild said they had belonged to her and that they were some of the few things she had brought to the orphanage when she first came there.


	7. The Letter

If, you, dear reader, are curious to just why Bledwyn had the chance to leave the orphanage, it is for one morbidly simple reason. The world is run by grown-ups.

This is not a problem when the grown-up or grown-ups in question are relatively decent people. It is a problem if they are not decent. It is even more so if the grown-up is one Grima Wormtongue.

You've probably heard the name somewhere, but you are forgiven in the very unlikely event that you don't recognize it.

Wormtongue was in charge.

Not the king, who should have been in charge. Not his son, who should have been in charge. Emphatically not even his nephew who definitely should have been in charge. Precisely not his niece, who even though she was already established as a dry nurse instead of a shieldmaiden, really should have been in charge.

None of these relatively decent people were in charge.

Officially, the king was in charge of everybody, including Wormtongue, but, unofficially, it was the other way around.

Wormtongue was also an old friend of the director of Bledwyn's orphanage.

They were not as friendly as they were, and Goldwine, the director, hoped he would never have to even hear Wormtongue's name again.

No such luck.

Occasionally, Wormtongue would write to him, saying that Meduseld was running low on servants and would Goldwine be so kind as to send a strong, hard-working orphan?

This was why those obnoxious twins and that girl were sent to Meduseld.

I will now show you an evening when Goldwine was in his study.

Fasthild came in. Goldwine had Fasthild occasionally do things such as run messages, which she was quite good at.

"Um, Goldwine, a runner came here with a letter. Then he left faster I thought was possible. He brought this letter."

She then held out a small roll of parchment with a familiar seal on it.

A yellowish seal with a large G on it.

Wormtongue's seal.

"Just put it on my desk." he said weakly.

After Fasthild left the study, Goldwine, with his trembling fingers, broke the seal.

The letter it contained read thus:

 _To my Friend, Goldwine,_

 _Greetings, salutations, and my best regards to your poor, orphaned, charges._

 _It has come to my attention that here at Meduseld, the king's household staff have been decreasing in number. Our scullery maid had taken seriously ill in the night, and died within the hour. If you have any orphans who are capable of such work, it would be very appreciated._

 _Your loyal friend, Grima_


End file.
